The invention relates to a mobile occupant carrier restraining device in general, and, in particular, to a vehicular mobile occupant carrier system which includes a mobile occupant carrier having a frame and a multiple point connector mechanism which may be interlocked with an upstanding securement stanchion so that the mobile occupant carrier and occupant may effectively resist forces that occur during normal vehicle operation and those that occur in crashes.
With the advent of a mobile society, the safe transportation of individuals utilizing mobile occupant carriers in secondary vehicles such as transit buses and school buses has become a major concern. The secondary vehicle may subject the mobile occupant carrier and its occupant to a variety of forces resulting from normal driving maneuvers as well as rear-end collisions, front-end collisions, collisions from the side, and even roll-overs. For the safety of the individual occupant in all of these situations, the mobile occupant carrier and Occupant are required to be safely secured within the vehicle.
Although numerous mobile occupant carrier restraining devices have been developed, they are for the most part inadequate in that such devices are designed to be utilized with a standard foldable mobile occupant carrier. Hence these designs require complicated means of securing the standard mobile occupant carrier and occupant because these mobile occupant carriers do not have adequate structural integrity nor contain any special features to aid in its securement other than their wheels.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,478 utilizes an independent latching means to secure a mobile occupant carrier to a stanchion. Such an independent mechanism contains inherent difficulties in its operation by requiring multiple steps to operate and is vulnerable to being misplaced and hence rendering the securing stanchion useless. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,369,995; 4,325,576; 4,601,620; and 4,019,752 show other arrangements for securing wheelchairs in transportation vehicles.
Additionally, most standard foldable mobile occupant carriers are not designed to withstand forces of a magnitude routinely encountered in a vehicular collision. Thus, when a vehicular collision is encountered, the force of the collision is transmitted to the mobile occupant carrier and the mobile occupant carrier may collapse. Furthermore, most standard foldable mobile occupant carriers do not meet safety standards and are unsuitable for transport by a secondary vehicle.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile occupant carrier system for a person with diminished capacity for mobility e.g., an infant or a physically disabled person, that can withstand the forces that may be encountered while being transported in a secondary vehicle.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a mobile occupant carrier that is comprised of a frame such that the mobile occupant carrier can withstand the forces that may be encountered while being transported in a secondary vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple belt securement system that secures the occupant directly to the mobile occupant carrier rather than to the secondary vehicle. This allows the occupant to be secured to the mobile occupant carrier by family members, medical attendants or other qualified caregivers prior to and independent of the arrival of the secondary vehicle. This provides for more appropriate securement of the occupant especially in those cases where the occupant is medically fragile or where special support, orthopedic device and the like must be used in the securement of the occupant. The driver/attendant of the secondary vehicle may then be relieved of the responsibility of securing the occupant to the mobile occupant carrier, and need only be concerned with loading/unloading of the "prepackaged" occupant in the mobile occupant carrier and securing the mobile occupant carrier to the upstanding securement stanchion. This could reduce the need for special medical training of the driver/attendant of the secondary vehicle, relieving them of certain responsibilities, and significantly improving the efficiency of the loading/unloading procedure.
Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile occupant carrier with a multiple-point connector mechanism which may be interlocked with an upstanding securement stanchion to effectively resist operational and crash forces.
Additionally, another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile occupant carrier with a multiple-point connector mechanism which may be interlocked with an upstanding securement stanchion with minimal effort and difficulty.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an upstanding securement stanchion that can effectively secure a mobile occupant carrier in a manner to resist operational and crash forces.